


Together

by darkmoore



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Strike Back
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, M/M, Super Soldier Serum, Temporary Amnesia, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 08:28:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15602373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkmoore/pseuds/darkmoore
Summary: Hydra got their hands on Damien, Michael just wants his husband back.





	Together

**Author's Note:**

> I liked Dalton, so I kept her around. This is AU anyway so *shrugs*, what does it matter? 
> 
> This story was written for the brainwashing/deprogramming square of my h/c Bingo card. Thanks go to my amazing beta, [Brumeier](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier) for being awesome. Also to all the lovely ladies who encouraged me in chat. You know who you are ;) THANK YOU!!!!

“You need to see this. Stark just sent it over.” Dalton set a laptop down in front of Mike. “They think they know where Scott is being held. The Avengers are going after the Hydra cell that has him, but they requested you join them for the op. Don’t get your hopes up just yet, but chances are we might actually get him back.”

Dread and hope were battling for the upper hand in Michael’s chest. Dread at what he was about to see, because he knew it wouldn’t be pretty. Hope that he would get his husband back after all, no matter the shape Damien would be in. They were soldiers, they’d known the risk of the op going in. Still, guilt had been gnawing at Michael ever since he had lost sight of Damien during the fight with those Hydra assholes and Damien had been taken. 

Dalton wordlessly opened the laptop and hit a couple of keys, bringing up a grainy, shaky vid. There was a chair not unlike the one Michael had seen in the recordings of the captivity of Sergeant Barnes. It looked newer and better maintained, an upgraded version maybe, but it still made Michael’s stomach knot with trepidation. Damien was dragged in by two Hydra goons, hanging limply between them as they manhandled him into the chair and fastened restraints around his arms and legs. 

Michael’s heart raced as he watched some guy shove a mouth guard between Damien’s teeth before he restrained Damien’s lolling head. Damien seemed to be barely conscious. Michael clenched his jaw and tried to control his breathing. If they used the chair on Damien, if they used it on him without having given him the serum first, Damien would die. No one survived having their brain fried that way without some serious chemical upgrades first. 

Michael glanced at Dalton. “I thought Barnes and Rogers said Hydra didn’t have any more serum,” he pressed out through clenched teeth. “Are we sure that Damien is even still alive? Or am I about to watch him get killed?” Anger was boiling in Michael’s veins, bright and hot and all-consuming. He wanted to get out there and hurt someone, make someone pay for what they had done, what they might still be doing to Damien. 

On screen the scientists had finished their preparations. They switched on the chair and Damien convulsed, screaming in agony around his mouth guard. His muscles spasmed and his back arched as the scientists kept sending electricity through his head and his whole body. Michael forced himself to watch closely, to pay attention. This was his fault. He had let Damien down. Damien was going through this nightmare because Michael had been careless. 

When it finally ended Damien was sweat-soaked but slightly more conscious than he had been before. “Is this thing even working?” he challenged weakly as the scientists started to detach the machinery from Damien’s body. One of the Hydra goons backhanded him and Damien sagged, his lip split and blood running into his mouth. 

A different guy in a lab coat appeared. He tapped something into a tablet he was carrying before stepping closer to Damien and giving him a once over. “We should be able to adjust the treatment, soon,” the man said in a heavy German accent. “I want him wiped, not brain damaged. He’s no use to me if he’s a vegetable.” He smirked, clearly pleased with himself at having used the slang. “Take him back to his cell.”

Damien was pulled out of the chair roughly and the video ended as he was being dragged away. 

Dalton hadn’t said anything, she’d just stood there with an unreadable look on her face, waiting for the video to end. Michael glared at her, rage and helplessness coursing through him in equal measures. He wanted to go out there and get Damien back. And if he’d get to kill some Hydra assholes along the way, all the better. 

“Gear up, Stark is sending a Quinjet to pick you up. Your ride will be here in 30 minutes. Dismissed.” Dalton stalked away, and Michael slammed the laptop shut before getting up to get his gear.

* * *

Michael stared at Damien, who was hooked up to countless machines in the medical suite of Avengers Tower. He was in bad shape: bruises, scrapes, cuts and burns marring his skin. They were healing at an alarming rate though, and Damien’s breath was even and deep, indicating a peaceful sleep. 

“It’s gonna be hard for him for a while,” Barnes said from the doorway, and Michael looked up to meet his eyes. “From what we can tell he wasn’t wiped completely. He’ll start remembering soon. Seeing you there did him a world of good.” 

Michael huffed. “Yeah, right. He barely remembered me, let alone our marriage. How was I of any use to you at all?” It hurt that Michael had been damned to inactivity while the Avengers did all the work. But Rogers had made it perfectly clear that Michael’s first and only task would be supporting Damien and helping calm him down without causing any additional damage. 

“He’s gonna need you,” Barnes said, and something in his tone, in his eyes, made Michael’s skin crawl. Barnes had been through this. He’d fought his way back from decades of being used and abused, tortured and having his memory wiped, of having been made a killer. But he had managed to reclaim is life and his memories and now he was a proper Avenger. Hopefully Damien could come back from this, too.

“He barely remembers me. He doesn’t know we’re married. He doesn’t even know what year it is. He recognized me but that was about it. I’m sorry, mate, but I don’t think I’ll be of much help. Damien wasn’t the sharing type before we got married and even after, opening up is hard for him. I don’t know how much use I’ll be.” There was a lump lodged in Michael’s throat and he tried to swallow around it, without much success. 

Damien might not be dead, but he had lost him all the same. 

“Don’t give up on him. I couldn’t have done it without Steve. He never stopped believing in me. Try to do the same for Damien.” Barnes gave Michael a tight little smile and left. 

Alone again with Damien, Michael had to admit that he hadn’t felt this hopeless since Kerry had died.

* * *

“I’m telling you, Mikey, this is _awesome_. I feel great!” Damien was sitting on his bed in the medical suite, swinging his legs and inspecting the unmarred skin of his arms and torso. “Those assholes super-juiced me and they’ve done me a favor. This is great. Can’t wait to see how I’ll do in the field now. Did Tony tell you that he designed training equipment for super soldiers and he’s gonna send some stuff along with us when we head back?”

“That’s great, Damien,” Michael said, and smiled gently. 

Damien had woken fully healed and bursting with exuberant energy. He knew that he needed to stay at the tower until the extent of his memory loss had been evaluated and treated as best as possible. Apparently Stark had a lot of friends in high places because both Michael and Damien had been assigned to the Avengers until further notice. 

The door opened and a young, female doctor came in, carrying a Stark tab. “Sergeant Scott, it’s good to see you awake. I have the results of your scans and I’m happy to say that everything looks great. You have healed at the expected rate and your missing memories should come back over the course of the next few months. I’d like to encourage you to talk to Sergeant Stonebridge about the time span that is missing from your memory.” She tapped on her tablet and then smiled at both of them reassuringly. 

“Mr. Stark tells me that he’s been by and explained to you that you have been assigned quarters here in this building. You’re going to stay for the course of your recovery?” 

“Yeah, he was here earlier. Great guy,” Damien replied. He smiled at the doctor winningly and Michael could see him slipping into flirt mode. “Are you living in the tower, too? Maybe we could meet up for a drink tonight, once you’ve released me.”

She smiled at him noncommittally and said, “I don’t think Sergeant Stonebridge would approve of that. Besides, I’m restricting you to non-alcoholic drinks for the time being. Please let me know if you experience any dizziness or other symptoms related to the regaining of your memories. I’ll be back later to release you into Sergeant Stonebridge’s care.” She smiled at them again and left, closing the door behind herself quietly. 

Damien frowned at him. “Why would she think you’d care if I hit on her or not?” He looked confused and upset now, as if the absence of most of his memories of the last few years only now started to register with him. Which was probably the case. 

Michael sighed and looked down at his own, folded hands. He was wearing his wedding band, but Damien wasn’t. The medical personnel had taken it off during Damien’s treatment and had handed it to Michael for safekeeping. Michael had carried it around with him in the pocket of his jeans ever since. 

“Probably because I’m not just your partner in the field but also your spouse, and I don’t like my husband sleeping around,” Michael said softly. He looked up, searching Damien’s eyes for a reaction to the news. 

There was stunned surprise on Damien’s face for a moment before a huge grin spread across his face and he laughed. “God dammit, Mikey, you almost had me there!” He clapped Michael’s shoulder and chuckled. “That’s a low blow, buddy. Man, I didn’t think you had it in you, using my memory loss against me like that. Don’t think Kerry would share you though.”

Damien’s words hit Michael like a blow. He’d known that Damien’s reaction to learning they were married would be difficult. Michael hadn’t anticipated that Damien would bring up Kerry, though. With another rueful sigh Michael reached into the pocket of his jeans and took out Damien’s wedding band. 

“Kerry died seven years ago. We’ve been married for two.” He held out the simple black Tungsten wedding band to Damien. “The doctors took it off when they treated you.” 

Damien stared at him, slack-jawed and dumbstruck. He hesitantly reached out and took the wedding band from Michael, holding it between his fingers. 

“Fuck me. You’re serious,” Damien said in an unusually quiet voice, and his eyes turned unfocused and distant. “I don’t remember this, at all. I don’t remember…us.” 

Hearing Damien say it out loud hurt even more than Michael had anticipated. “I know, mate. I’m sorry,” he replied around the burning feeling in his throat. “You don’t need to wear it if you don’t want to. I understand.” 

“Hm,” Damien said as he toyed with the ring in his hands. “I need a minute to wrap my head around this, Mikey.” He looked lost for the first time since waking up after his rescue from Hydra. Damien’s gaze wandered to Michael’s hands and the wedding band sitting darkly against his skin. “You’re wearing yours,” he said, nothing more than an observation. 

“Always,” Michael replied, because it was true. Contrary to the ring Kerry had put on him, Michael hadn’t taken off Damien’s ring even once. The awareness that he loved Damien more than he had ever loved Kerry had come with no small amount of guilt. 

Damien looked at him again, something flittering across his face. “I complete you, don’t I?” he said. It was a question he had first asked what felt like a lifetime ago. 

“You complete me, yes,” Michael replied dutifully, voice tight with emotion. _In more ways than you will ever know_ , Michael thought. 

Damien nodded thoughtfully and slipped the ring onto his finger. “Then that’s all I really need to know, isn’t it?” He stepped closer to Michael and slipped his right hand into Michael’s left. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”

“Together,” Michael agreed.

Maybe he hadn’t lost Damien after all.


End file.
